In 2011, the long-disused north end of the NStC&T’s Lakeshore spur was put back into service after a marine supplier opened a warehouse just across the canal from St. Catherines. This spur passed through an long established residential neighborhood that did not want diesels smoking up the joint, which was just the excuse that the OSW needed to string wire up instead and put a tiny chunk of the old radial back under wire.

Fortunately – at least for railfans – this meant that a new motor wasn’t in the budget, so instead a long-disused MOW flatcar (with a steel underframe, so it had been kept in service as a transfer caboose instead of going to the breakers with everything else after CN turned off the power) was quickly remotored and put back into service as a very specialized freight motor.

At 250 HP, it had basically enough power to pull 3 boxcars on this very flat spur, and that’s what it did for 9 years before the NStC&T decided to electrify their entire system at 1500VDC to match the ORRC lines to the west.

It was not legal for any sort of interchange, obviously, but it had been equipped with ditch lights so it could (more) safely haul traffic down the back alleys between the (dieselised) mainline and Lakeshore Road.

It’s currently stored in a shed at the NStC&T’s Port Colbourne servicing facility.